Savannah Mauragis walked out of the Lincoln Middle School Auditorium into the chilly drizzle Monday night, clutching her third-place science fair ribbon.
The 17-year-old Santa Fe High School senior beamed with a smile, not because of the mathematics category award, but because it was her last science fair.
“I’m free,” she said.
Mauragis, who has competed in science fair competitions for years, joined about 30 other middle and high school students on stage Monday night when the Alachua Region Science and Engineering Fair winners were announced.
The students presented their projects Wednesday for judging at Santa Fe College, and they waited almost a week to find out how they did.
The awards were distributed among 13 project categories, ranging from computer science to microbiology to botany.
Sara Charbonnet, science fair chairwoman, said students were notified beforehand that they would receive an award at the ceremony. She said the method is aimed to lessen suspense, stress and disappointment.
“We try to make everyone feel good about being here,” she said.
Most students won spots to compete in the state science fair next month, and three of them will present their projects in international competition later this year.
Some students, like Molly Ayers, were happily overwhelmed when they heard their names called.
Jessica Lee, a 14-year-old Eastside ninth-grader, said she was surprised when she received first place in the senior division of the behavioral and social science category.
She said she didn’t think her project, a study on life satisfaction differences between native Chinese children and immigrant Chinese children, would win because it was different from most of the other entries.
“Mine is a pretty simple project, but it goes in depth,” she said. “I was not expecting this.”
Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
